Virginia Humanities announced today that $950,600 in grants will be distributed among eighty-three nonprofit organizations across the state. Funding for these grants comes from The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through a program called Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP). The SHARP grants are a part of the American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress earlier this year.
“Local museums, historical societies, and cultural centers are important purveyors of Virginia’s history and culture, but many have been hit hard by the pandemic,” said Matthew Gibson, Virginia Humanities’ executive director. “We’re grateful to Congress for their continued support of the public humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and NEH Acting Chairman Adam Wolfson, and we’re honored to have a role in helping Virginia’s cultural organizations get back on their feet.”
“When we heard we were receiving the SHARP grant from Virginia Humanities, it gave us hope,” said Douglas W. Pennock, project director at the Augusta Military Academy Museum. “This grant will allow us to keep our doors open, upgrade our tools for documenting and preserving our vast collection of artifacts, and present those artifacts to the world beyond our physical museum.”
The SHARP grants support the recovery of Virginia’s cultural sector which contributes $17.9 billion to Virginia’s economy each year, representing 3.5% of the state’s GDP, and employing more than 123,000 people in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysisi. Grants were awarded in all eleven of Virginia’s congressional districts to cultural organizations that have been affected by the coronavirus. Funds awarded range from $3,250 to $17,000. The amount awarded to each organization is based on the proposed project plan.
The following organizations were awarded SHARP grants from Virginia Humanities in October 2021:
- American Civil War Museum (Richmond): $17,000
- Amherst Glebe Arts Response, Inc (Amherst): $7, 040
- Augusta County Historical Society (Staunton): $17,000
- Augusta Military Academy Alumni Foundation (Augusta County): $11,900
- Belle Grove Inc (Middletown): $3,520
- Belmead on the James, Inc (Powhatan): $7,040
- Birthplace of Country Music (Bristol): $17,000
- Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia (Richmond): $17,000
- Bland County Public Library (Bland): $17,000
- Blue Ridge PBS (Roanoke): $17,000
- Botetourt County Historical Society & Museum (Fincastle): $11,900
- Chickahominy Indian Tribe – Eastern Division (Providence Forge): $17,000
- Clarke County Historical Association (Berryville): $3,520
- Coming To the Table-RVA (Richmond): $11,900
- Community Arts Center Foundation, Inc. dba The Prizery (South Boston): $17,000
- Culpeper Cavalry Museum Inc. (Culpeper): $3,520
- Danville Historical Society (Danville): $17,000
- Descendants of Enslaved Communities at UVA (Charlottesville): $17,000
- Eastern Shore Public Library Foundation (Accomac): $11,900
- Elegba Folklore Society (Richmond): $11,900
- Fairfield Foundation (Gloucester): $11,900
- Fall for the Book, Inc (Fairfax): $3,520
- Fluvanna County Historical Society (Fluvanna County): $11,900
- Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center (Fredericksburg): $17,000
- Friends of Onancock School (Onancock): $3,520
- Halau Nohona Hawaii (Alexandria): $11,900
- Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society (Dayton): $7,040
- Helping Hand Cemetery Club (Courtland): $7,040
- Historic Gordonsville INC (Gordonsville): $17,000
- Historical Society of Western Virginia (Roanoke): $17,000
- Ivy Creek Foundation (Charlottesville): $3,520
- James Solomon Russell Saint Paul’s College Museum and Archives (Lawrenceville): $17,000
- Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. (Williamsburg): $17,000
- Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (Charlottesville): $17,000
- John Marshall Foundation (Richmond): $3,520
- Journey Through Hallowed Ground (Waterford): $17,000
- Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center of Virginia, Inc. (Charlottesville): $3,520
- Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle (Charlottesville): $17,000
- Local Colors of Western VA (Roanoke): $7,040
- Loudoun Museum (Leesburg): $3,520
- Madison House (Charlottesville): $11,900
- Mary Ball Washington Museum & Library Inc (Lancaster): $3,520
- Maymont Foundation (Richmond): $17,000
- Montgomery Museum of Art & History (Christiansburg): $7,040
- National Trust for Historic Preservation (Alexandria): $11,900
- National Women’s History Museum (Alexandria): $11,900
- Norfolk State University Foundation (Norfolk): $7,040
- Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation (Brookneal): $11,900
- Points of Diversity (Roanoke): $17,000
- Preservation Virginia (Williamsburg): $17,000
- Presidential Precinct (Charlottesville): $17,000
- Prio Bangla (Arlington): $7,040
- Radford Heritage Foundation (Glencoe Mansion) (Radford): $3,520
- Rappahannock Historical Society (Washington): $7,040
- Rappahannock Tribe of Virginia (St Stephens Church): $7,040
- Red Dirt Productions (Charlottesville): $17,000
- Reston Historic Trust & Museum (Reston): $11,900
- Richmond Hill (Richmond): $17,000
- Richmond Public Library Foundation (Richmond): $17,000
- Rockbridge Historical Society (Lexington): $3,520
- Salem Historical Society, Inc (Salem): $7,040
- Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project (Harrisonburg): $3,520
- Shenandoah Valley Mountain Music Makers Association, Inc. (Swoope): $11,900
- Smithfield Preston Foundation (Blacksburg): $17,000
- Steamboat Era Museum (Irvington): $3,520
- Stratford Hall (Stratford): $17,000
- Suffolk River Heritage, Inc. (Suffolk): $3,520
- The Cold War Museum (Warrenton): $7,040
- The Hermitage Museum and Gardens (Norfolk): $17,000
- The John Mitchell Jr. Program for History, Justice and Race (Fairfax): $17,000
- The Menokin Foundation (Warsaw): $11,900
- The Montpelier Foundation (Montpelier Station): $7,040
- Virginia African American Cultural Center (Virginia Beach): $7,040
- Virginia Association of Museums (Richmond): $11,900
- Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (Richmond): $11,900
- Virginia Holocaust Museum (Richmond): $17,000
- Virginia Museum of History & Culture (Richmond): $17,000
- Virginia Nottoway Indian Circle and Square Foundation, Inc. (Capron): $17,000
- Washington Heritage Museums (Fredericksburg): $3,520
- Wayne Theatre Alliance (Waynesboro): $3,520
- William King Museum of Art (Abingdon): $17,000
- Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library (Staunton): $17,000
- Young Audiences of Virginia, Inc. (Norfolk): $11,900
